I am from Upper Darby PA. I started my college education at Delaware County Community College (DCCC) which is where I played basketball. I transferred to Rosemont College after attending DCCC for 2 years. When I arrived at Rosemont, I knew it was the right place for me in order for me to focus on my career. During my time at Rosemont, I knew what I wanted to do I was very unsure on how to pursue my goals. During my first semester, I had a professor/advisor that was amazing. She is one of the reasons I am a graduate student at Syracuse now. She presented me with a lot of different opportunities such as my numerous internships. She did more than influence me she inspired me to be the best person I can be sort of like Kobe Bryant. While I was at Rosemont, I started up my podcast where I talk about keeping a positive mindset on things in life and staying motivated to reach your goals. I can talk all day about my podcast but there is one thing that I take pride in when I talk about my podcast which is the charity event that I did. Last January I thought of an idea to give back to those that need a smile. I raised money and gave gifts to children at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. I called this event “Operation SMILE”. I always say to myself and to those around me you don’t understand how much a smile can make a difference to someone. My past has shaped me into who I am today. I used to be a person that was always sad on the inside.
Going into my present, I am a graduate student at Syracuse University studying Sport Venue and Event Management. I would talk about the classes that I am taking but honestly, I would rather tell you about my internship it is more fun to hear about. I currently intern for Syracuse Athletic Department as an Athletics Facilities and Event Operations graduate intern. This internship has taught me more than I could learn in a classroom. Let me not say that I love class and school, but it is easy for someone to tell you how the industry is but it’s a better feeling working hands-on in the industry. What I currently do daily is check all facilities to make sure everything is working properly and that nothing needs to be repaired. If something does need to be repaired, I put in a work order where I have to be detailed about the broken item or surface. I’ve made the mistake of not being detailed and boy I’ve never felt that much heat before haha. I also work a lot with our coaches at Syracuse and visiting teams, getting game contrast agreements (contracts) signed so we can process them and verify the game. I’ve learned that before schedules get published online there are so many people that see one contract. I also do so much more from setting up games and breaking them down to meeting/greeting visiting teams. What this internship has taught me is that this industry is very detailed oriented and that there is a lot of time and effort that goes into one game. I have been able to pick up on things very fast due to my great bosses. They have made my time here at Syracuse one I will never forget. The support is one like no other.
What does my future look like? I currently just accepted an offer from the NCAA to work in the Division I Men’s Basketball Championships department. I will be starting that as an intern in June of 2022. That is the first step to my future. After I complete that internship which is a year, I am going to go to law school to get my law degree. The reason I am going to get my law degree is because looking at general managers in the NBA I see about 40 percent of them have some type of law background. My overall goal is to become the general manager for the Los Angeles Lakers. With that goal, I have added a twist to it, with that platform of being a general manager I am going to start up my foundation which is going to be called “Operation SMILE”. I want to put the two things I love together basketball and making people smile. My goal is to leave a legacy that will outlive me, something that will go on for ages. This is my way to make a difference in society. Also, check out my Podcast: Kicking it with Tobi!
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